Pain From Lung Cancer

brookmum
brookmum Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Lung Cancer #1
My mom has lung cancer. She has many small tumors in both lungs and a large tumor of 2.7cm in one lung. She has extreme pain in her chest, ribs and back. The doctors say that the pain is not from the lung cancer. I think the doctors are wrong. Does anyone know if the pain she is feeling can be caused by the lung cancer? Where is the pain from lung cancer usually felt and how bad can it get? I really need help as the doctors are not much help at all. I am new to this so could you please also send replies to my email: brookmum@aol.com. Thanks for any and all help.

Comments

  • tomsbc
    tomsbc Member Posts: 19
    #2
    brookmum,
    Unless the cancer has spread to the plura or has gone outside the lungs there should be no pain from the tumors. Mine was a little over 3cm and I never felt a thing. Now the radiation treatments I had were something else. First the esophagus got to where I could hardly swallow. Then about a month after the treatment was over I got a pain in my shoulder that made my arm useless. That lasted about 6 weeks, but now is all but gone. Have they ruled out Pleurisy or Pleural effusion?
    tomsbc
  • superbobbie
    superbobbie Member Posts: 4
    #3
    hello everyone....my name is superbobbie (Eileen) and i just wanted to say that my mom has inoperable lung cancer and she has been fighting the cancer since may of 2001. She has been a wonderful fighter!!!!! She has surprised the doctors at M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic in Houston Texas. Her first oncologist said....You have 6 months to 12 months to live....GRRRRTR!!! I am really upset cuz this one doctor didn't know what he was doing. He wouldn't refer my Mom to another cancer specialist....so Dad had a really difficult time getting Mom to M.D. Anderson at first.

    Thanks for listening...and you can reach me at ETOLSON@CHARTERMI.NET
  • tomsbc
    tomsbc Member Posts: 19
    #4
    superbobbie said:

    hello everyone....my name is superbobbie (Eileen) and i just wanted to say that my mom has inoperable lung cancer and she has been fighting the cancer since may of 2001. She has been a wonderful fighter!!!!! She has surprised the doctors at M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic in Houston Texas. Her first oncologist said....You have 6 months to 12 months to live....GRRRRTR!!! I am really upset cuz this one doctor didn't know what he was doing. He wouldn't refer my Mom to another cancer specialist....so Dad had a really difficult time getting Mom to M.D. Anderson at first.

    Thanks for listening...and you can reach me at ETOLSON@CHARTERMI.NET

    That's nice to hear. I have the same thing, but just started this past September. Wish your Mom good luck from me and tell her to keep up the good work.
    Tomsbc
  • hopenheart
    hopenheart Member Posts: 4
    #5
    my mom too was diagonosed 2/7/2003. She has NSC Carcinoma of the mediasteinum which started in her lung. She has had 3 rounds of chemo and good success. her tumor was massive. 17 cm x 10 cm when they found it. she has lost her voice and her esophagus is bent from the tumor so eating is a problem. after the third chemo treatment its down to about 3 cm . her radiation starts 5/8/03 and I am very scared and nervous. I want to know if and how it works. She doesn't like me to go to the dr. with her because I panic and she is stronger than I am about this. She had pain until she had the chemo but her oncologist told us it was from the tumor itself.
  • tomsbc
    tomsbc Member Posts: 19
    #6
    hopenheart said:

    my mom too was diagonosed 2/7/2003. She has NSC Carcinoma of the mediasteinum which started in her lung. She has had 3 rounds of chemo and good success. her tumor was massive. 17 cm x 10 cm when they found it. she has lost her voice and her esophagus is bent from the tumor so eating is a problem. after the third chemo treatment its down to about 3 cm . her radiation starts 5/8/03 and I am very scared and nervous. I want to know if and how it works. She doesn't like me to go to the dr. with her because I panic and she is stronger than I am about this. She had pain until she had the chemo but her oncologist told us it was from the tumor itself.

    It would seem to me that any pain would depend on where the radiation is targeted. The idea is to do as much damage to the tumor while keeping the damage to healthy tissue at a minimum, but it will get damage. They will map the best way to direct the radiation beam through the least amount of good body tissue, and to avoid organs & nerves & they make the beam as narrow as they can in order to make sure the entire tumor gets the calculated dose of radiation. So that means that some surrounding healthy tissue will get some radiation. With time most of it will heal, but in the meantime it can hurt. How much of a problem depends on the tissue that was damaged. Initially because mine was close to the esophagus I developed problems swallowing due to damage to the esophagus, and the skin where the target was felt as though I had a bad sunburn. It quit very shortly after I finished radiation. 2 or 3 months later I got severe pain in the tissue & muscles in my shoulder (front & back) that the beam went through getting to the tumor. That lasted 4 to 6 weeks, but it is also now gone. There is no way to tell if and how much until it happens, just make sure that they give good pain medication. The radiation itself is a piece of cake, there's nothing to it & it takes 5 to 10 minutes.

    tomsbc
  • superbobbie
    superbobbie Member Posts: 4
    #7
    superbobbie said:

    hello everyone....my name is superbobbie (Eileen) and i just wanted to say that my mom has inoperable lung cancer and she has been fighting the cancer since may of 2001. She has been a wonderful fighter!!!!! She has surprised the doctors at M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic in Houston Texas. Her first oncologist said....You have 6 months to 12 months to live....GRRRRTR!!! I am really upset cuz this one doctor didn't know what he was doing. He wouldn't refer my Mom to another cancer specialist....so Dad had a really difficult time getting Mom to M.D. Anderson at first.

    Thanks for listening...and you can reach me at ETOLSON@CHARTERMI.NET

    is there any place where people can chat online like on aol im??? or yahoo im???

    thanks for letting me know...

    eileen
  • betty2
    betty2 Member Posts: 91
    #8
    superbobbie said:

    is there any place where people can chat online like on aol im??? or yahoo im???

    thanks for letting me know...

    eileen

    Go to Cancer Surviver Network, its a great chat line. I go there all the time. You meet people with all kinds of cancer.
    I have had lung cancer 2 times once in each lung 3 1/2 yrs a part. Different cancers
    betty2
  • dhall8
    dhall8 Member Posts: 2
    #9
    The doctors are correct to a point. I also have rib pain. This was caused by small fractures that occured from coughing and from bone mass loss from the chemo that is used (Taxol). Pain can also occur if the airways are blocked by the cancer or infection. Has the doctor ordered frequent xrays? I am taking a monthly IV infusion of Zometa which helps the bone mass loss. I also have pain in my back, but I have been told that this is from calcium spurs that have developed along my spine, (which I suspect is also from the chemo). You need to make sure that you ask many questions of the doctor, and if you are not confident then a second opinion may be waranted. I wish I could be more helpful but I am new to this as well. My email is dano_hall@yahoo.com.

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